Coinbase has announced its partnership with Bitkey, the self-custody wallet produced by Block, to increase the use of self-custody.
Summary
Coinbase and Bitkey: promoting Bitcoin’s new self-custody wallet
Popular NASDAQ-listed crypto platform Coinbase has announced its new partnership with Bitkey, the Bitcoin self-custody wallet.
In practice, the new partnership sees the integration of Coinbase Pay to transfer existing Bitcoin and buy/sell Coinbase-powered Bitcoin to Bitkey’s self-custody wallet.
Bitkey is a product of Block and includes a mobile application, hardware device and a set of recovery tools, enabling customers to easily own and manage their BTC.
Bitkey’s mission is to enable the next 100 million people to truly own and manage their money with Bitcoin, without the frictions and anxieties that have historically characterized the transition to self-deposit and true ownership.
Coinbase and Bitkey available in more global markets such as US, Canada, UK, Brazil and Australia
The new feature, which combines Coinbase and Bitkey, will be available immediately in more global markets such as the US, Canada, the UK, Brazil and Australia.
In this regard, Lindsey Grossman, Bitkey’s Business Lead, said:
“At Bitkey, we’re building a self-custody bitcoin wallet designed to empower the next 100 million people to truly own and manage their bitcoin – safely and easily. Partners play a key role in bringing self-custody to a wider group of people around the world, and we are incredibly proud to have partnered with leading companies like Coinbase to make self-custody both secure and easy to use.”
In Bitkey’s statement, it says that in addition to Coinbase, there is also an active partnership with CashApp.
Coinbase spends $45.5 million and buys back some of its debt
Coinciding with this news about Coinbase, which is committed to expanding the use of self-custody, there is also another regarding its debt.
In fact, it appears that Coinbase has spent as much as $45.5 million on the repurchase of its debt, coming to now have $1.37 billion principal amount of the outstanding Notes.
This involves a buyback of 0.50% convertible senior notes due 2026.
In this regard, Alesia Haas, Chief Financial Officer of Coinbase said:
“We are always looking for the best opportunities to deploy capital to create shareholder value.
As we stated in our most recent shareholder letter, the first quarter of 2023 was a turning point in building a company that is more efficient and financially disciplined.
This opportunistic repurchase is a continuation of those efforts and reflects our confidence in our business, strong first quarter financial performance, and improved competitive positioning. We have reduced our 2026 convertible senior notes outstanding and we will look for additional such opportunities in the future.”
Brian Armstrong targets US Congress
Recently, in the face of allegations unleashed by the US. Securities and Exchange Commission against the crypto platform, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said it will be the US Congress that will sort it all out.
Basically, Armstrong argues that the SEC’s complaint against Coinbase and also Binance, is comparable to the US institutions vs the crypto industry.
Such a scope would therefore require involvement by the US Congress, so that they will be the ones to regulate the crypto market with new legislation.
Moreover, what the US lacks compared to Europe and other countries is regulatory clarity on this issue.
